


you make me feel like i'm living a teenage dream

by jewishedwardelric



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Alternate Universe-JROTC, Consensual Underage Sex, Drunken Flirting, F/F, F/M, JROTC, M/M, Multi, Teenage shenanagins, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, not sure what the endgame ship will be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 11:09:40
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6702313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewishedwardelric/pseuds/jewishedwardelric
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Elric brothers move to America and start high school. Ed joins JROTC. Al meets Mei Chan. Everyone gets into teenage shenanigans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	you make me feel like i'm living a teenage dream

**Author's Note:**

> So I usually don’t like high school AUs, since I fucking hated high school and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies, much less my favorite characters. But I’ve been thinking about what the FMA characters would be like in high school, especially Envy. I’ve decided he’s the emo’s answer to Regina George.
> 
> This fic takes place in the early ‘00s for reasons that involve a certain band about chemical romances. And tours that are warped. Except for the title.
> 
> Also the school system is American, because that’s the system I went through.

_11 August 2000_

 

“Brother, are you ready?” Alphonse Elric asked Edward on their first day of school. Al, fourteen, was a freshman, while Ed, fifteen, was a sophomore.

 

“Almost,” Ed answered, putting his long, golden hair into a braid.

 

“Brother, we’re gonna be late for our first day of school here. It won’t make a very good impression.”

 

“Al, it’s 6:40. School starts at 8:30. We’ve got plenty of time,” Ed reminded his brother as he stood up.

 

“Yeah, but I wanna make a good first impression, and meet everyone,” Al said.

 

Ed sighed. “I shouldn’t even be up this early, dammit. No one should. It’s a crime against humanity.”

 

“Don’t be so overdramatic, brother.”

 

The Elric brothers had moved to the States from Germany over the summer, due to their father Van Hohenheim’s job.

* * *

 

_Spring 2000_

 

**_Edward, 15, ninth grade. Alphonse, 14, eighth grade. Van Hohenheim, 45, scientist._ **

 

 _“We’re moving, really?” Ed snapped. Al’s eyes were wide in shock and slight horror. They had_ **_just_ ** _gotten used to life in Munich._

 

_“It can’t be helped,” Hohenheim said, raising his palms in defense. “My job requires me to travel sometimes, you know that.”_

 

_“I still don’t get what kind of job you have that requires us to move different countries every year or so,” Ed said angrily._

 

_“Important research, Ed. You’re too young to understand, I know, but please try. I’m not deliberately doing this to uproot you boys.”_

 

_“This is so unfair, Hohenheim.” His father flinched at his use of Hohenheim’s name. Ed hadn’t called him Dad or Father in eight years. “You should have let us stay with the Rockbells. Granny was taking good care of us.”_

 

_“Is it so wrong for a father who had not seen his sons in years to want them to live with him?” Hohenheim countered._

 

_“It is when that ‘father’ left them years earlier. You don’t get to play father after abandoning us,” Ed said, his voice on the verge of yelling._

 

_“Brother, please,” Al pleaded._

* * *

 

 

Ed growled at the memory. Hohenheim was a bastard.

 

There was a knock at their bedroom door. “You boys ready for your first day at Central High?”

 

 _Speak of the devil,_ Ed thought. “Yeah, we’ll be right out,” Ed said briskly.

* * *

  
  


The car ride to Central High School was silent and tense, at least on Hohenheim and Ed’s part. Al was just not paying attention.

 

Once they got there, though,  Hohenheim cleared his throat, indicating that he wanted to say something.

 

“Have a good first day, my sons,” he said.

 

Al said bye and Ed just grunted as they exited the car.

* * *

  
  


“Are you excited, brother? Meeting new people, making friends,” Al said, smiling nervously.

 

“I guess so,” Ed said tensely. Boy, could he not wait for the…

 

“Who’s the shorty? Isn’t he supposed to be at the middle school?” a kid said, followed by other kids commenting on Ed’s lack of height.

 

Ed’s face reddened as he shouted, “WHO YOU CALLIN’ SHORTER THAN MY TIME SPENT IN MUNICH!”

 

Al pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. Why did Ed have to freak out at the mention of his height? “Brother, _please._ They’re not saying that,” Al tried to reason but there was no reasoning with a pissed off Edward Elric.

“What’s his problem?” a tall, deep voiced Asian kid asked.

 

“He doesn’t like people making fun of his stature,” Al replied.

 

“But it’s _true,_ though. He’s a runt-”

 

The teen narrowly avoided getting slugged by Ed when Al grabbed Ed’s red jacket in a firm grip.

 

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to avoid saying stuff like that if you don’t wanna get hit,”  Al advised.

 

“He’s got serious anger issues,” the kid noted.

 

“Yeah, we’re trying to drag him into therapy but he’s not having it.”

 

The kid laughed. “I’m Roy. Roy Mustang. I’m a third year in army JROTC.”

 

Once Ed stopped yelling and struggling to get free, Al set his scowling brother down. ‘I’m Alphonse Elric. This is my brother, Edward Elric. He’s in JROTC, too, this year.”

 

“Not from around here, are you? You have accents,” Roy said.

 

“No, we moved here from Munich, Germany. We were actually born in Berlin, though,” Al answered.

 

“Oh, cool. Immigrants. What brings you to the US?”

 

“Father’s job, mostly. Ed wasn’t too happy about movie again-we moved around a lot. Long story.”

 

“Ed doesn’t seem too happy about anything,” Roy observed , noting Ed’s angry glare.

 

“He’s fine when you don’t call him short or anything or when Dad isn’t talking to him,” Al said.

 

“Oh. Issues with your parents, huh?”

 

“ _Parent,_ ” Al correctly quickly. “Our mom died a few years ago. Ed’s still angry with our dad for something that happened almost a decade ago, but I’ve long forgiven him. Edward, however, tends to hold grudges.”

 

“That’s a shame,” Roy said. “Sorry about your mom.”

 

“Yeah,” Al said solemnly. “Well, we should be getting to our first period, shouldn’t we?”

 

“Yeah. See you guys around,” Roy said.

* * *

 

Ed’s first period was JROTC. The teacher was Chief Warrant Officer King Bradley.

 

Ed sat at one of the front tables. He needed to, since his...stature made it difficult for him to see behind taller students.

 

That’s when he noticed Roy Mustang.

 

“Hey, we share a class together,”  Roy said.

 

“Aren’t you an upperclassman?” Ed asked.

 

“That’s the beauty of JROTC. It brings the grades together,” Roy said.

 

“How poetic,” Ed said dryly.

 

“Hey, man, sorry about the ‘shorty’ comment from earlier; I didn’t know you were so sensitive about your height.”

 

Ed scowled. “Whatever. Just shut your damn trap about it,” he growled.

 

“Is that the new kid?” a female voice asked. Ed turned to see an older teenage girl with her blonde hair pinned in a bob.

 

“Yeah, what about it?” Ed asked suspiciously.

 

“I’m Hawkeye. Riza Hawkeye. Third year. Last year I was a squad leader. This year I’m hoping for company commander.”

 

Ed looked lost. “Oh, right. You’re new to JROTC. This class is what is known as a ‘company.’ This company is Alpha company. Second period is Bravo, Third is Charlie,  Fourth Delta, Fifth is Foxtrot.”

 

“Okay,” Ed said slowly.

 

“Look, you’ll learn quickly. We all did.”

 

“Who are you guys talking to?” another new voice asked. It was a dude with black hair and some (not much but some) facial hair and glasses.

 

“Hughes, this is the new kid, Edward Elric. Edward Elric, this is Maes Hughes, my friend,” Roy said.

 

“Oh, is he a freshman?” Hughes asked, smiling.

 

Ed glared. “ _No,_ I’m a sophomore,” he snapped.

 

“But you’re so…,” Hughes started, but stopped when Ed glared daggers at him, daring him to say the ‘s’ word. “So new to ROTC,” Hughes finished pathetically.

 

“Yes, which makes me a first year, doesn’t it?”

 

“Uh-huh. Later, you need to meet my girl Gracia. She’s so pretty and sweet and perfect, and…”

 

Ed tuned out as Hughes rambled on about his girlfriend.

 

“Yeah, it’s better if you tune him out, Roy said. “He’s so insufferable about her. I can’t imagine how unbearable he’ll be if they get married and have children.”

 

The second bell rang and Hawkeye, Roy, and Hughes went to be seated.

 

“Welcome back, everyone,” a booming voice said. It was Chief Warrant Officer King Bradley. “I expect you all had a good summer?”

 

Everyone said yes in a monotone.

 

Bradley went on to explain how introductions would be had to get everyone familiar with one another. Next week the upperclassmen would write essays trying out for certain ranks and then they’d be filled and the upperclassmen would train the little (Ed growled at the word “little”) underclassmen on certain stuff, like marching movements, saluting, and stuff.

 

“Alright, freshman and year ones first,” Bradley announced.

 

Ed gulped. That meant _him._ And since the order was alphabetical, and his last name started with an E, he’d be up soon.

 

“Elric, Edward!” Bradley announced.

  
Ed gulped and stood up, going to the front of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> Updated because apparently August 12th 2000 was a Saturday. I don't think anyone would care that much, but I would and it would bug me all day.


End file.
